DAV Benefits Protection Team

DAV Benefits Protection Team

Protecting our Benefits Begins With You

Please join DAV’s dedicated grassroots supporters and help protect veterans’ benefits! Your involvement will increase our effectiveness in advocating for ill and injured veterans, their families, and survivors – and will unify and solidify DAV’s message across the nation.

We need your help in communicating DAV’s legislative priorities to Congress, the media and the general public. Given the volatility of the current political environment – it is an important time to strengthen advocacy efforts so the much talked about reform of VA’s health care system is done in the best interest of veterans, existing benefits are protected, and future benefits are developed in line with what matters to those who have served.

Our success in pushing for and seeing legislative changes in Washington remains dependent on the continued strength of our nationwide grassroots movement.

Now is the time to become proactive, and now is the time to prepare – before others decide it is a good idea to dismantle the VA or take away hard-earned benefits and services from those who have served and sacrificed for this country. We are all responsible to help ensure that our government does not go back on its promises to our nation’s veterans and their families.

How can I help?Sign up for DAV’s Commander’s Action Network (DAV CAN)—just provide your email address and ZIP code, and you will be notified of an Action Alert when there are pressing issues we need your member of Congress to hear about. You will have the option of using a prewritten email to send to them, or you can write your own.

Do I have to be a member of DAV to join? You do not have to be a member of DAV to join our grassroots movement or to sign up for Action Alerts through DAV CAN. You simply need to want to help.

Who are my members of Congress? By providing your ZIP code at sign up we will match your members of Congress with your location and their contact information will be populated when we send you an Action Alert to take action on. You can also use this use this link to enter your ZIP code and look them up.

What issues do you send Action Alerts on? This link will show you the most recent Action Alert topics that DAV has asked its grassroots to take action on.

Are there other ways to help? DAV has a new internal initiative where Department and Chapter legislative chairs will be transitioned to become “Benefits Protection Team Leaders” (BPTL) and will be provided a toolkit to assist with their legislative grassroots efforts. BPTLs will work on local, state and national levels, and are interested in growing their members to aid in their outreach. Once all BPTLs are in place, there will be a way for you to reach out to your state leader and get more involved with their specific program. You can also visit the DAV website, dav.org, to lean about other ways to volunteer your time to help ill and injured veterans.

Can I send emails to members of Congress who do not represent me? Members of Congress will only respond to correspondence from their constituents; therefore, it may not be an efficient use of time to write to other members of Congress.

What should I do with the letters/emails I receive in response from my elected officials? If the response specially addresses the member’s support of or opposition to our position, you can send the letter to DAV National Service and Legislative Headquarters, 807 Maine Ave., SW, Washington, DC, 20024 or forward to legislativepublic@dav.org.

Where can I go to find out more information about contacting members of Congress? Click here.

Where can I go to find out more information about writing resolutions? Click here.

Where can I to find out more information about establishing a grassroots network? Click here.

Where can I go to find out more information about what to do when I attend a meeting with my member of Congress? Click here.

Where can I go to find out more information about conducting a DAV town hall meeting? Click here.

Where can I go to find out more information about inviting a member of Congress or candidate for public office to a DAV meeting? Click here.

Must I use the prepared email or can I write my own? You are encouraged to use the prepared email and to add your personal experiences to that email. The prepared email provides the information about the issue and DAV’s position to help your elected official understand both the issue and our position. However, adding your own personal experiences or situation adds greatly to the impact your email will have on the reader.

Our nation’s service men and women put everything on the line in defense of America’s freedom. Our public and political leaders need to be kept informed of the challenges they face returning to normal life. DAV’s legislative grassroots campaign makes sure they know what they need to do.

DAV’s multi-aspect legislative campaign provides this education and support in the capitol and across the country. Take some time here and learn how DAV is working with lawmakers on your behalf. Read more and discover how you, too, can stand with our heroes and make sure their voice is heard in Washington.